Such betrothals were not made now-a-days.

There still remained, both to him and to her, a certain liberty of extricating themselves from this engagement.

Should he come to her and say that he found that their contemplated marriage would not make him happy, would not she release him without a word of reproach?
Would not she regard him as much more honourable in doing so than in adhering to a marriage which was distasteful to him?
And if she would so judge him,--judge him and certainly acquit him, was it not reasonable that she under similar circumstances should expect a similar acquittal?
Then she declared to herself that she carried on this argument within her own breast simply as an argument, induced to do so by that assertion on his part that he was already her husband,--that his house was even now her home.

She had no intention of using that power which was still hers.
She had no wish to go back from her pledged word.

She thought that she had no such wish.